Apple's iPhone: The Future is Here
by Anand Lal Shimpi on July 2, 2007 6:13 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Mobile
Syncing on a Mac and on a PC
There's this group of people that absolutely hate iTunes as an application, while I don't find myself in that category my feelings on the application are as follows:
By no means is iTunes the best application in the world, and honestly it's not nearly one of Apple's greatest efforts, but it's the easiest thing to use to sync with your iPod (and now iPhone) and thus I make do. If you asked how I'd make it better I wouldn't be able to give you a straight answer, I just know that iTunes isn't the pinnacle of simplicity that Apple has achieved with other apps.
Using iTunes to activate your iPhone is a brilliant idea; I absolutely hate sales pitches when it comes to anything technology related, and I know very few people that love going through the process of signing up for a new cell phone plan. You buy your iPhone and the rest you do from the comfort of your own chair, on your own terms.
The setup process is simple and works the same on Macs and PCs, all you need is iTunes 7.3. Input some personal information, including your SSN (assuming you didn't get a credit check at your AT&T store and were given a special code) and you're off to selecting your plan:
Like many on launch day, I got an error telling me that my activation would take longer to process but I eventually got a confirmation email with my new number.
Despite being an application originally made primarily for MP3 organization, iTunes does a good job of acting as a sync manager. First of all, if you've got an iPod chances are that you've got iTunes installed, in which case moving to the iPhone doesn't require any additional software. Secondly, you just tell it what you want to sync and in some cases where your content is located, and voila it's copying data over to your iPhone.
You don't have to eject or do anything special to disconnect your iPhone, just pull it out of its dock and you stop the sync. My single complaint about iTunes as the iPhone's sync manager is that as soon as you plug in your iPhone, iTunes switches to it within the application. Normally Apple does a good job of not letting other applications or dialog box steal focus unless you give it to them, but iTunes' handling of the iPhone just isn't one of those situations.
iTunes, stop demanding my attention
It's not a huge problem but it's one worth complaining about (just like the iPhone's SMS application isn't ground breaking, but it's worth praising). Don't misunderstand, iTunes itself doesn't steal focus under OS X, but within the application focus switches automatically. If I'm scrolling through some MP3s, realize I forgot to plug in my iPhone and rectify the situation, iTunes will kick me out of my MP3 library and make me look at its iPhone screen. Great.
iTunes looks out for you
I'm actually surprised at how well the syncing process works under Windows, it's virtually identical to it under OS X. Granted you don't have iPhoto, but iTunes will sync to Outlook just like it does to Mail under OS X. The biggest issue by far is that the iPhone presently doesn't support 64-bit versions of Windows. Maybe Apple has a thing or two to learn about the PC community, but generally the early adopter crowd is what you'll find spending $500 - $600 on a new phone and there's a chance that those same people may have a few extra GB of memory in their system. Just a hunch.
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EODetroit - Tuesday, July 3, 2007 - link
Holy Comprehensive Review Batman! That took most of my morning at work, good thing its practically a holiday here already.Now my question is:
How many poop pictures has Anand received from the A-Tech staff?
Haha
Shimmishim - Tuesday, July 3, 2007 - link
Yes. It was a good read. One of the best reviews of any piece of hardware (computer or consumer related) I've read in a long time.Anand Lal Shimpi - Tuesday, July 3, 2007 - link
Thanks guys :)And no, zero poop-pictures from AT staff.
Take care,
Anand
LoneWolf15 - Tuesday, July 3, 2007 - link
While not perfect as a product either, Anandtech completely skipped any Palm Treo devices for this comparison. The Treo has done SMS by contact for some time now, just as you have mentioned the iPhone does (I've had it on both the 650p and 750p; I'm sure the new 755p does as well). While I have some issues with Palm support as far as their product goes, I still haven't seen a smartphone that can do better --I blame this at least in part due to carrier wars and desire for control (i.e., crippled Bluetooth, not adding WiFi, so carriers can make you pay for everything through them), rather than blaming cell phone manufacturers.Anand Lal Shimpi - Tuesday, July 3, 2007 - link
There were a number of products I would've liked to have included, but I was very limited by time so I tried to shoot for two of the most popular: the Curve and the Blackjack. I've already dropped Nokia an email but I'll do the same for Palm and see what comes of it :)Take care,
Anand
retrospooty - Tuesday, July 3, 2007 - link
Ya, quite alot of things like that the Treo has done, and done well for a long time now, all that and an open platform. The issue is the latest Treo is, 4 years later, still the same repackaged Treo, with a few minor upgrades. The iPhone is by far the best UI, and that alone will be its saving grace, and its legacy on the industry. A few years from now, REAL smartphone manufacturers will copy the UI and improve everything, and do it cheaply, and on all carriers. That is the best thing about the iPhone.LoneWolf15 - Tuesday, July 3, 2007 - link
Actually, in 4 years, the Treo added Bluetooth (the first 600p didn't have it), EVDO (the iPhone has only EDGE, which has been rated far slower, and slowest when provided by AT&T/Cingular, the single carrier of the iPhone), an SD card slot (600p didn't have one), and several other features.As I said, the Treo isn't perfect. And I think the UI of the iPhone is pretty spiffy, plus I'll bet it has the best web browser of any phone on the market. But I don't think I could do without a real (by real I mean tactile) QWERTY keyboard (I rely on text messages for work, since cell reception can be spotty in a reinforced concrete building), I like having EVDO support, and I like the fact that I can choose from Sprint, T-Mobile, Alltel, Verizon, or AT&T Cingular for a Treo (AT&T/Cingular has little or no reception in my work area, so it nixes any thought of an iPhone, and by my understanding, they have a five-year exclusive agreement with Apple). And I can get a Treo for a few hundred less as well.
I want to like the iPhone. Unfortunately, Apple set conditions of pricing and carrier that mean I'll never find out how good a phone it might really be.
sviola - Tuesday, July 3, 2007 - link
Not only the Palm Treo, but the Nokia N95, which is just awesome:In-built GPS and Navigation Program (over 100+ countries maps)
5 MP Camera with Zeiss Lens and Optical Zoom, and Video Recording
Symbian OS
Plays MP3, video, etc
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB, TV out
Quadriband GSM/WCDMA (3G)
MicroSD Card Reader
Among many other features.
rowcroft - Tuesday, July 3, 2007 - link
The iPhone looks great, but the big gotcha for me is that I routinely use my 8525 to access the internet on my laptop. Can't do that with the iPhone from what I understand.As for all the comparisons to Verizon & such, if you look at the total cost of ownership (Verizon's data plan is significantly more expensive), the iPhone is just a few dollars cheaper than the Blackjack w/Verizon.
Locutus465 - Tuesday, July 3, 2007 - link
I've got a Samsung i720 with verizon... For a "last gen" PDA phone priced at just $100 brand new from verizon when I got it, it's pretty sweet. Admitingly the display isn't quite as good as apples, but as far as functionality it does everything the iPhone does and more. I also appriciate the sliding screen with which reveals a keyboard. There's also the other advanatages I mentioned earlier, i.e. Windows Mobile being open to 3rd party development etc.